Firefighter · Connecticut · SOC 33-2011
Firefighters in Connecticut: 2026 Salary, Real Wage, and Cost-Adjusted Pay
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-05.
TL;DR
- $77,660 is the BLS median wage for Firefighters in Connecticut; $74,529 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
- Nominal: #7/51 · Real: #6/51 — ranking shifts by 1 positions after RPP.
- Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
- BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $48,580 · P25 $63,170 · P75 $81,260 · P90 $86,140.
Wage breakdown — Connecticut
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $48,580 | $46,621 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $63,170 | $60,623 |
| P50 (median) | $77,660 | $74,529 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $81,260 | $77,984 |
| P90 (top tier) | $86,140 | $82,667 |
| Mean | $72,090 | $69,184 |
| Employment | 2,860 Firefighters in Connecticut | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Connecticut index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 104.2 |
| Goods | 98.6 |
| Services | 153.2 |
| Rents | 116.6 |
Connecticut's overall RPP (104.2) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.
After-tax take-home — Connecticut (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Firefighter) | $77,660 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$8,332 | 10.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$3,521 | 2–6.99% (graduated) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$5,941 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $59,866 | 77.1% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $57,452 | ÷ (104.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Connecticut state-tax burden means for Firefighter take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $59,866 (77.1% of gross). After the 104.2 RPP, real take-home is $57,452.
Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).
National context
Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $59,530 for Firefighters with mean pay of $63,890 and total employment of 332,240. Connecticut sits at #7 on nominal pay and #6 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Connecticut climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Firefighter salary in Connecticut?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 104.2 for Connecticut), the real-wage equivalent is $74,529 — what the $77,660 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $60,623 to $77,984.
- How are Connecticut Firefighter salaries calculated on this page?
- Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
- What does the top of the Firefighter pay scale look like in Connecticut?
- The 90th percentile lands at $86,140. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $81,260.
- How many Firefighters does Connecticut employ?
- BLS OES counts 2,860 Firefighters employed in Connecticut in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
- How wide is the wage spread in Connecticut?
- P10 to P90 spans $48,580 to $86,140. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
- Paramedic dual-certification premium for Connecticut firefighters?
- Most Connecticut fire departments respond to far more EMS calls than fire calls — roughly 70-80% medical response is typical. Departments add a paramedic-cert premium of 5-15% above firefighter base, reflecting the labor-market scarcity of cross-trained personnel. BLS aggregates all firefighters under SOC 33-2011 regardless of EMT/paramedic status; the actual Connecticut median for paramedic-certified firefighters runs above the BLS figure shown on this page, while EMT-only firefighters cluster at or below it.
- Volunteer / paid-on-call vs career firefighter pay in Connecticut?
- BLS captures career (full-time) firefighters under 33-2011; volunteer departments and paid-on-call firefighters are not represented in the OEWS wage figures. Roughly two-thirds of US fire departments are still volunteer or combination, concentrated in rural and suburban Connecticut jurisdictions — those firefighters earn small per-call stipends, attendance pay, or LOSAP retirement credits rather than a wage. The BLS Connecticut median therefore reflects only career departments and dramatically overstates 'firefighter pay' if interpreted as the population average.
Sources & methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 33-2011, 2024 reference period.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
- Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
- See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.
Cross-comparison: see how Connecticut Firefighter pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.